Young Riders, an Eragon fan fiction
by kraftiekatt
Summary: Fifteen years have passed since Eragon and Saphira defeated Galbatorix, and no dragon eggs had hatched. Alagaesia is growing desperate for new dragon riders to replace the Riders of Old. When Eragon and the Elves hatch a plan to find new riders, Aravis and her friends find themselves on a journey they will never forget.
1. The Silent Day

**Chapter I**

_Aravis_

Eragon's plan wasn't working. Nobody, no Urgal, no Dwarf or even elf had come to the Dragon Island to train. It had been seventeen years since Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Brightscales had defeated the mad king Galbatorix and began their search for Shur'Thornessa, the island of the dragons, and none of the eggs he sent back had hatched. The Counsel of the Elves had to come up with a new plan.

The day the Counsel was called, every elf stayed in their homes. I was too anxious to stay inside, though. I went out into the tall forest canopy, jumping around like a leaf-skipper. Still being an Elven child, bursting with strange magic and curiosity, I was always getting in trouble. That day was no exception. I ran with the wild antelope, swam with the schools of fish, and sang to the plants, turning them into the most strange things. Then I sat. I fidgeted with my radiant young hands. Sparks of strange light bounced between the tips of my fingers. As the sun went down, I sang shapes out of trees.

I closed my eyes and sang enchantedly and carefully as I formed a sapling sword. It was, of course, only a model. Out of a cedar tree, I shaped a seamless baby dragon statuette, with a small mouth opened in a yawn, wings outstretched and tiny, clawless paws resting beside it's soft belly. It was as lifelike as any other creature. Right then I had an idea. Murmuring a stream of words, I sat for hours, as my words slowly changed into a song. Ever so slowly, the baby dragon in my palm began to move. It stretched, sat up, and looked at me with its curious, lifelike eyes. Making a sniffing motion, it ran up my arm and sat perched on my shoulder. I enchanted it so that as we reached home, it would return to its normal posture and freeze.

I gasped. _Home! _I'd completely forgotten! I was so caught up, I lost track of time! I looked up to the midnight sky and began hurrying through the branches, occasionally hitching a ride on a mule deer, and within an hour, I was home. My infant sapling crawled into my outstretched palm, stretched it's paws and neck out, opened it mouth, spread it's thin wings and squinted tight its eyelids before being still, completely frozen in its yawn.

Scaling the side of the tree, I crawled through my balcony doors and whispered, "Naina hvitr un bollr, mar frema ne thon eka threyja!" Before me appeared a low, white glowing sphere, suspended in the air. Quickly setting the statuette and sword by an outcropping in the side of the wall, I got into my bed and whispered "Waise neiat." And as the light faded to black, I fell into my waking dreams.

I was awakened by a loud, bothersome sound. The palace horns were blowing, and yet… They _never _blow. I raised my pointed ears to hear better, not that it was any use. My hearing was already more accurate than any other elf's. Slipping quietly onto the balcony, I looked out to the Drottning's palace. It was full of activity. How strange it was, to see the normally quiet castle full of crowds of Elven folk.

"Aravís, get up! Can't you hear the horns? Get up, before we're late!" I heard my mother call from below. _No time for doing things normally this morning, _I thought disappointedly. Calling for my tunic and boar's hairbrush, I fashioned myself quickly and sprung down the stairs where my white stallion friend Uvu waited for me. Without waiting for an order, he galloped swiftly for the palace. In no time, we were at the gates, close as we could get to the queen (which was still a good quarter mile away.)

I had my full attention on Arya. The earlier bustle had calmed down, and there was not a sound to be heard, save for those of nature. Even those seemed hushed. Arya walked on stage, her emerald dragon close behind. Enchanting her voice so that it was louder, she spoke;

"Now you all know that we've been having trouble getting the eggs to hatch for the chosen few. We are well aware of this, and we have decided to take action. Shadeslayer and Brightscales initial plans were these; an egg would be left behind for each race. Every youngling would get a chance to care for the eggs for a night. If the egg did not hatch by then, they would be sent to another child to care for. So it would continue. As we ran out of child contestants, we went on to the adults of every qualified race. Neither could they get the eggs to hatch. The Counsel of Alagaesia and I took this into careful consideration. We even contacted Eragon and his dragon far away to the east. After a long night of thought, we all agreed on something new." She paused, and, taking a deep breath, she stated;

"Every child in Du Weldenvarden will be sent to Shur'Thornessa, in hopes that they will have more of a chance there."


	2. Questions

**Chapter II**

_Aravis_

A wild cry rang out from the crowd. A horrible chain of wails followed. I couldn't believe it! The elves had never mobbed anybody before, but I was thinking that was about to change. The elves' children were the most treasured creatures in Du Weldenvarden, and anywhere else. To just send them away was unheard of. Uvu reared up in fright. He had never heard such a noise coming out of the elves, even as a seasoned warhorse.

Even so, I was baffled. Not for the same reasons as the other elves, though. I had never dreamed of going to Shur'Thornessa, and now, I was about to do it! I was concerned, though, of what my parents would think. They would never let me go, but oh! How I wanted to! How I wanted to go and become a rider, join Eragon and Saphira on their island and train with my dragon, and become a great warrior, fighting for Alagaesia and living free!

Attempting to calm the elves, the Queen emboldened her voice even more to be heard over the crowd. I could feel the ground shaking beneath my feet and I covered my ears to protect them from the deafening noise. She called the children forward, and I sat for a second before remembering that I was a one. Urging Uvu forward, we walked through the crowd.

I didn't bother getting off the horse as he trotted closer to the Queen and her guards. As he turned around and faced the crowd, I noticed my two best friends, Alanna and Dusan, making their way to the front. Alanna tossed her snowy hair and stared at me with her deep brown eyes. Dusan didn't even try to contain his excitement. He was practically bounding through the crowd. His eyes flashed joyously as he reached the front and took his place beside Alanna.

As the three of us stood there, I dismounted and glanced at my mother at the back of the crowd, closer to the gates. She was trying to keep calm and staunch the tears in her eyes. Before I could meet any more gazes, the queen murmured something and the guards ushered us inside the palace. We walked through many airy corridors and a beautiful garden before reaching a small room with rich, colorful furnishings. As we sat down, Queen Arya entered the room and took her place across from us, more regal and fierce than a tigress.

Staring at each of us in turn, she used the traditional greeting, "Atra esterni ono thelduin, children. Do any of you have anything you wish to ask?" I just about burst, before I remembered what my mother had told me when I was a toddler. I kept my face calm and serene, greeting her properly in return, and asked, just to clarify, "Are we really going to meet Eragon and Saphira?" She nodded her head in reply.

Dusan's green eyes shimmered and grew large before he asked excitedly, "When are we leaving?"

"We leave first thing tomorrow morning."

He almost giggled with excitement.

Then Alanna spoke. "Do we get to return home once before leaving, so as to gather the things we'll need for the trip? And also, will there be more children our age coming along?" she asked quietly.

I hadn't even thought of that.

"We have taken the liberty of getting the things you'll all need for the journey together, but you may choose a maximum of five items you wish to take. There will not be much room on the ship we are taking to the island, and much time before we get there, so we'll all have to take only a few treasures. All the elven children of Du Weldenvarden, whether from Sílthrim, Luthivíra, Nädindel, Osilon or Ília Fëon, will be with us. In total, there will be thirteen other children coming along," Arya answered, obviously realizing for the first time that there were only sixteen children in all of Du Weldenvarden.

Suddenly, I realized that something didn't seem quite right. I glanced around the room, but didn't notice anything unusual… ah! Found it. One of Arya's servants had brought in a platter of fruits while she was talking. Dusan was stuffing his face, and he was apparently too busy to talk, so the room was quieter. He wasn't quite as hushed as the other elves. In fact, he was quite sporadic. You might say he was the 'comic relief' of living with a bunch of overly muted elves. It gets pretty boring. Which is probably why he was so uncontrollably excited to go.

After a minute of awkward silence, I knew I had to say something. I realized that I was glad about it to. I had a question nagging at the back of my mind, and just _had _to get it out. I took a deep breath. "Drottning, do you believe that we'll actually have a better chance of becoming riders if you send us to the island?" She smiled warmly, with an almost unnoticeable glint of hope in her eyes as she said,

"I hope so, child. I hope so."


End file.
